Auburn women rally then hold off 'Bama for 53-52 win

Mar 8, 2019, 03:36 am

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Janiah McKay scored 12 points and No. 6-seed Auburn rallied in the fourth quarter to beat 11th-seeded Alabama 53-52 on Thursday night in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Auburn advanced to play third-seeded Texas A&M (23-6) Friday night.

Ariyah Copeland made 1 of 2 free throws with 7 1/2 minutes left to give Alabama a 45-39 lead. McKay then made a pair of foul shots on consecutive trips sparking a 10-0 run and Auburn (22-8) never trailed again.

Daisa Alexander sank a pair of foul shots with 11 seconds left for 53-50 advantage. The Tide's Ciera Johnson brought the ball up, and on the left side of the floor attempted a 3-pointer that was never close. Copeland put back the miss as time expired for the final margin.

Unique Thompson scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Auburn.

Auburn shot just 17 of 51 (33.3 percent), including 5 of 17 from distance, but helped its cause at the free throw making 14 of 17. The Tigers came up with 12 steals and forced 26 turnovers by Alabama (14-17).

Shaquera Wade led the Tide with 19 points, Cierra Johnson scored 17 and Copeland 11.